


It Wasn't Meant To Be a Long Game

by orphan_account



Category: VlogSquad, david dobrik - Fandom, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Childhood Friends, F/M, Friends to Lovers, datalie - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2020-12-14 02:03:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 19,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21007895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: David and Natalie were a long time coming.This is cross posted from my tumblr.Please leave comments! I'd love to hear your thoughts!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> David x Natalie– honestly, this is what I imagine their history and life to be. Obviously this is made up, but some of the actual timeline stuff is most positively messed up because my memory is shit so just pretend my timeline is entirely fictional so that you aren’t holding me to any type of standards. This is my first fic ever and is probably teeming with errors.

You were surprised when you got the text. 

“What are your plans for the next 6 months”

“?????”

You hadn’t talked to him for a while, you were in your last semester of classes before your internship (not to mention the hunt for an internship that wouldn’t make you want to absolutely die) and he was living a zillion miles away. On top of that, you both had separate lives now, relationships, separate friends.

“Dave what are you talking about?”

Facetime request from David. When you answer, you don’t even try to hide the confused look on your face.

“I want you to be my assistant. It can be your internship! Since I’m an LLC or whatever the fuck, it can be legit. I’ll pay you! I’ll pay more than the fancy event planning place downtown will. Come onnnn”

“I’m sorry but why the fuck do you need an assistant?”

“Jack says I need one and honestly my world is kind of a giant mess right now and you’re the only one I can imagine trusting to help run my life”

“Dave, I don’t know. LA is so far, and then there’s Shawn… I just don’t know”

“I promise, I’ll make it worth your while. 6 months, then you can help me find someone to replace you if you wanna leave”

So, you went.

That was 18 months ago, and you were still in LA. But your life was completely different. Now, when you went in public, people stopped and asked for pictures. What started as picking up Chipotle for Dave turned into sitting in his trailer on sets, coordinating with his publicist (yes, a publicist!), and training people to do the grunt work that used to be yours. What started as parking tickets in your dad’s hand-me-down car parked outside of Bellingham turned into making yourself a home in the place you shared with David overlooking the better bits of the city. 

What also changed was that you and David were both single, out of long term relationships that, if we’re being honest, never had a shot at lasting. They felt perfect for both of you from the thick of it, but once you were on the outside, the troubles were glaringly obvious. 

What didn’t change was the way you bickered like people who’d known each other half a lifetime, the way he listened when you put your foot down, or the way his bullshit antics still made you laugh even when you knew they were risky as hell. 

9 months ago, something shifted. Where you used to tiptoe around each other out of respect for the other’s partner, walls came down. David didn’t feel like he needed to keep such a healthy distance like he did when Shawn was still in the picture. You didn’t feel like an outsider interfering with every little mention or memory of Liza like you did before. Now you could be the actual best friends you were before it all. Before the fame and before Liza and Shawn and before all of this.

You were 14 when you found out he had a crush on you, but the thing about being a 14 year old girl is that you don’t actually feel like you’re ‘allowed’ to have a crush on whoever you want. Like whoever you’re crushing on needs to be someone who will impress your friends. Now you know it’s bullshit, but 14 year old you knew that your goofy, kind of dorky next door neighbor wasn’t going to be a crush that would impress anyone. So you did the logical thing, something you’ll probably regret for the rest of forever, and decided that you were only going to “have crushes on football players,” because that would impress your friends. You couldn’t imagine the teasing you’d endure if your girlfriends heard about the soft spot you had for your dorky next door neighbor, so you repressed. You repressed it until you didn’t even really believe it was there either.

You didn’t know that your 14 year old next door neighbor was kind of crushed when he found out you were not only not interested in him, but the guys you were crushing on were nothing like him. 14 year old David had lots of friends, and it kind of protected him from comparing himself or categorizing himself, but seeing you choose the football players was quite possibly the biggest ego blow of his whole life. It was where he realized that people have leagues, and you were out of his. Way out of his. So, like you, he repressed. He accepted friendship because he still wanted you in his life. Like a lot. So he pursued a friendship, and you were open to it because you wanted him in your life too. He teased and played with you, but he knew where he thought he stood, and he didn’t push it.

Adult Dave and Natalie were playing the same game you’d started when your were 14. Repression, denial of feelings. Except David wasn’t the dorky next door neighbor with braces anymore, and having crushes wasn’t for impressing your friends anymore. But the damage was done. Despite millions of dollars and followers, admiration, and all the fancy things he could want, David still had it internalized that you were miles out of his league. So you stayed in your leagues. 

This is where the regret of a 14 year old girl haunts a 22 year old woman. Its where she wonders what would be different, if the damage is too much to overcome, or if it would even be worth it. 

Ever since his public breakup and your private one (exposed by the stans, to no real fault of anyone– everyone was bound to catch on), things have changed. He’s more open with you, your relationship is more balanced, and those little voids in your lives that your partners left are being filled with each other. You’re an assumed duo, a de facto pair. You tell each other more than you have in years, and you lean into one another for support. You’re closer than you’ve ever been. You start to miss him when you travel separately, and that is confusing to you. You start to notice how good he looks when he’s fresh out of yet another shower, before he’s picked a truly stupid fight with you that ends up in fits of laughter from you both (or some passive aggressive twitter activity). The regret of a 14 year old girl creeps back– the girl who’s own self consciousness about who she should “like” had broken her neighbor’s heart, spirit, and ego. She’d spent their formative years denying she ever “liked” him like that, and he’d spent his convincing himself he could never have her, until he’d convinced himself to put her out of his mind.

When there was distance, it was easy to squash feelings. Out of sight, out of mind. When the distance was gone and she’d moved in with him, they both had their own stacked deck of distractions. Even though she was micromanaging his life and the physical distance was gone, there was still an emotional barrier. They had other partners and they were friends with a business relationship. Hell, he didn’t even claim her as one of his best friends in interviews. She wondered if she deserved that, after she’d crushed his spirit at 14. 

But then the barriers broke, your relationships ended– his was a long and brutal 12 months of pining. Your decision had been made months before you finally cut the cord, though. So your breakup was a bit easier. Once you were both “over it,” so to speak, you threw yourselves into your work. Dave was making moves online, you helped Jack find him a publicist, and his schedule was exploding. Time that used to be spent sitting around at Bellingham, picking up food, and booking prop- animals was long gone. You were being put in the vlogs more, which was not your favorite, but you knew how much David loved it. He always loved your reactions, and you weren’t one to make him unhappy on purpose unless he deserved it.

Now it was interviews and premieres and bringing your new LA friend on as another assistant to lighten the load. You had a fanbase now, and like a million followers and fan accounts. You were traveling more, in big groups, in small groups with just the two of you and Jason, and sometimes just you and Dave. Your favorite was when it was just the 2 or 3 of you. You didn’t have to be always on, didn’t have to impress anyone, and you could be yourselves. And as much as Dave loves surrounding himself with action and chaos, you knew he loved those trips too. The two of you were growing closer and it made your heart feel full.

There was a turning point for the two of you, and it hit right around the time you helped him put together a whole sham marriage as a prank on Jason. The two of you were side-by-side in your first class seats on a late night flight to Boston to get Lorraine. You couldn’t bring anyone with or draw attention to yourselves online or it would blow your cover. So for the first time in a really long time, the two of you got to be normal. No rush to edit, no stories to post. You got to talk and laugh and relax for those glorious hours, 30,000ish feet in the air. You wrapped yourselves in the airline blankets and talked about the things you’d avoided. How you were both doing post-break up. Who you thought should get married next (besides David and Lorraine and Erin and TJ– your vote was Heath and Mariah). Before you knew it, you found yourselves in a game of 20 questions, just like when you were teens. It was like the universal 13-15 year old way to flirt or to tell someone you like them or to find out who they liked. But there you were, two grownass adults in first classs, leaning on your sides and playing 20 questions.

“So are you over over Shawn?” yes.

Will you ever be over Liza? “I’m almost there.”

“What happened with us?” We’ve always been friends.

“No, like why did we grow apart?” Well I went to college, and you chased your dreams.

“Do you ever wish some things had gone differently when we were younger?” Absolutely. 

For the first time in a really, really long time, the two of you just looked at one another. Silently. For a long time. It wasn’t awkward. It was like you were both thinking about the same thing without discussing it aloud.

After a good long while, David finally spoke. “I’m glad we’re doing this together Nat. I couldn’t do it without you.”

“Me too, Dave”

And you both knew that neither of you were talking about the sham marriage he was about to get into. You were talking about this life you were now building together.

Before you knew it, your eyes had grown heavy. The two of you fell asleep face to face, propped up by the airline seats you never fully converted into beds, and for the first time in a while, feeling content.


	2. Chapter 2

He woke up before you (which almost never happens), so when your eyes finally fluttered open at the sound of the pilot announcing the upcoming descent, he was staring straight at you.

“Hey, good morning” his tone gentler than usual.

“Hey” you responded, smiling.

Nothing had “happened” the night before, but somehow, it felt like the morning after reaching a new level of intimacy. In some ways, it was. 

From then on, the two of you spent less time bickering or talking business. You had deep conversations, like the ones you had when you were kids, deep into the night. More than once, you’d fallen asleep on the living room couch head-to-head after a long night of talking about your lives, the history you shared and the history you didn’t, and your dreams. Sometimes the two of you would be in fits of laughter, other times you’d find yourselves wrapped up in empathy for the other. 

The people in your life started to notice something was different. Lorraine was the first to really talk about it. She could feel it from the wedding trip, and she would tell everyone she could about how you two were meant to be.

The people who before had said you were like a couple of siblings were changing their minds, encouraging you two and talking up how great you’d be together. You couldn’t decide if you loved it or hated it. You loved it because you love David, but you hated it because you knew it could never happen. You’d ruined it at 14 when you broke him, and he wasn’t interested now. The way he kept his physical distance from you was how you knew it would never happen. Even with how close the two of you had become emotionally, he was so hands off. He always kept distance, even when you were both laid up in a bed together editing or sharing his laptop to work on the vlog. Hell, Corinna was practically in his lap begging for a threesome with the two of you, but he’d barely hug you unless he was trying to cover you in Nickelodeon slime. He had so many perfect girls who wanted him now, anyways. Of course he didn’t want you like that.

The conversation might have never happened if it weren’t for that damn lie detector test. You agreed to be hooked up to it last week and everyone, especially Corinna, came in hot with the burning questions. 

First, you admitted that you like working for David. This shouldn’t have been THAT big of a shock to everyone, but you also didn’t like to let people know you enjoyed it since part of your fun involved bossing people around and again, running his life. But you also admitted you wouldn’t leave for more money somewhere else. You could see that Dave was pretty satisfied with this, as he should be. He teased you about the school dance you ditched him at when you were teens (add that to the list of regrets), and Erin asked if you were attracted to Corinna (duh, who isn’t?). You lied and said you wouldn’t hook up with Corinna (busted), and then when you were asked if you would ever hook up with Dave, you didn’t have a choice. You had to lie. “No.” You answered. You tried to play it off as a joke when the words came out of your mouth, as a way to discredit the lie detector that was surely going to bust you, but you couldn’t hide the blush. “Lie” Dave’s response was to joke, of course, so you didn’t take him even a little seriously when he said “I’m down.” When you finally moved to the Love Sac to watch everyone else take their turn, you were still a little shaken from having your actual feelings exposed.

Eventually you got over your embarrassment and were happy to participate in uncomfortable questioning of other people. Namely Jeff. Jeff had been teasing you and David nonstop, saying you were meant to be or were secretly dating. In return, David teased him right back about YOU and Jeff in the same way. Just another way you knew he was not interested. Jeff admitted to having sexual fantasies about you, which was honestly pretty flattering. Eyes across the room still darted to David when that truth came out, but you didn’t get why. When you asked Jeff if he was attracted to you though, he said no. Because he “blocked you out” and because you and Dave were “secretly dating.”

God, you fucking WISH.

David played off that joke too, so you didn’t have to hide any reaction. 

That night and the next few days were busy. Reggie was in town too, so you were spending time with him. He’d only been in town for a few days and the first time he had you alone at the house, he’d cornered you. 

“What the hell is going on with you and David and why do I get the vibes that you should be fucking?”

“What are you even talking about? We’re the same as we’ve always been!” You argue.

“Not a fucking chance, Natalie. The tension is practically fizzling from your bodies. You two need to talk about it or it’s going to be bad.”

“There’s literally nothing to talk about! We’re friends, he’s my boss, and he’s not even mildly interested in me so it doesn’t matter”

“The hell are you talking about? Did you SEE his reaction when he heard Jeff was having fantasies about you? I thought he was gonna choke. His whole face fucking froze.” 

“That’s not true, he laughed!”

“No he laughed when Jeff tiptoed around being attracted to you. Probably because he knew a yes answer would get him totally fucked up later when David eventually has a new ‘fun’ idea involving painball guns or explosive chemicals.”

“Whatever, it’s all a bunch of fake science anyways”

“Fake science that says you’d hook up with David”

“Fake science that’s literally proven to be easily manipulated.”

“Whatever you say.” Reggie argued back, quickly changing the topic.

You didn’t know that Reggie approached David with a similar line of questioning. And you definitely didn’t know how it went..

Until David brought it up to you.

Everyone had left the house. Even Reggie was out trying to network with some beauty vloggers David had connected him with, trying to make a name of his own.

You and David had just finished yet another rom com that you half watched, half talked over. You were glad he liked the rom coms as much as you because no one else in your life did. And you’d only spent half the movie imagining yourself and David in the rom com, so that was an improvement compared to other times. You both had a couple glasses of wine, too, since you weren’t going anywhere. 

You stood up and stretched, about to head to bed when David stood up and stepped toward you.

“Hey,” he said

“Hey?” you were confused.

“I’ve been thinking……”

you waited

“I’ve been thinking about the other day. You know with the lie detector guy.” he finished

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I’m sorry I put you on the spot. I shouldn’t have let you be in that position. I could tell it made you uncomfortable and I’ve felt bad ever since.”

“What? No it’s fine! I agreed to it. You didn’t make me.”

“Yeah but I let them ask you questions, and then the machine made it seem like you were lying and it made it look a certain way, and I know that had to suck” 

“Dave. It’s fine. The machine was fine. It’s not a big deal”

“Wait, so you were lying?”

“David.”

“No, tell me.”

“David, what exactly do you want to hear? That I don’t want to hook up with Corinna? Because the girl is gorgeous so..”

“Not that.” he interrupted.

Oh. You wracked your brain for a second. There was really only one other ‘lie’ he could be talking about. “Oh.. um.. I don’t know,” you finally answered.

“You know you’re like one of the most important people in my life, right? Like up there at the very top of the list.” he said.

“I mean, yeah. I guess.” you responded, still kind of confused at where this was going.

“No, seriously Nat. You are so important to me. I don’t want to lose you. Like, I can’t lose you. I know I gave you shit, but you really are my partner. I need you to be here.”

“Dave, I’m not going anywhere. You’ve got me. I thought you knew that? Why are you talking like this? Not that I mind the compliments, but still..”

“I just don’t want anything to ruin this. I didn’t know you felt that way and I don’t want anything to ruin this.” You could hear his heart in his voice. He didn’t talk like this often, but when he did, it tugged right back at your heart strings. It reminded you of the 14 year old boy who you adored first. And the 23 year old man you still adored.

“Nothing will ruin this. I promise.” you tried to reassure him.

You weren’t sure who moved first, but before you could even think, his arms were low around you. You felt his fingers dig into your hips, tugging you into him, before his hands were climbing up your back and crossing over to pull you into the deepest, tightest hug of your life. It was like you were two becoming one. Your hands snaked up and over his shoulders, pulling him just as tight. His head dropped to your shoulder and your hand climbed the back of his neck into his hair. Something about the pressure in that squeeze was so comforting. You never wanted to let go.


	3. Chapter 3

When the hug ended, you smiled at each other and went your separate ways into your rooms, to bed. After the conversation– after the hug that made you feel safer than anything else in your life– the two of you became a lot physically closer. Your shoulders would be pressed up against one another on the couch, in his bed editing. You’d bump one another as you walked side by side, and you were rarely more than 10 feet away from one another at any given time. That hug was like an unspoken commitment, but it didn’t mean you were more than friends. 

The next thing started with a fight.

It was a fight about a vlog, one of the primary things you two would bicker about. He could no longer edit without you, which meant you had a pretty big role in his posting twice weekly. It would have been 3 times weekly if you hadn’t staged a whole ass intervention to save everyone in the VS’s sanity (but mostly yours and David’s). This time you were both laid back in his bed (not weird), it was nearing 3am, and everyone else had gone home. You watched him work and consulted on every miniscule decision as he put together another 4 minutes and 20 seconds of footage to share with millions of people.

David wanted to include yet another confession of yet another instagram model confessing his love to him while he denies them. He got a weird kick out of it, while you couldn’t help but feel bad for the girls. You know they agreed to include the footage, and some of them probably only participated for clout, but it was frustrating nonetheless.

It wasn’t that you thought he had feelings for any of those girls. You knew David well enough to know that he doesn’t operate like that. He’s a heart guy. If he doesn’t love you as a person, inside and out, and have a genuine friendship-love connection, there will not be a sexual connection. 

It frustrated you because you knew how much it hurt him when you did that to him as a teenager. You knew how much he resented and internalized it. You’d heard it from his friends. It’s no secret what a blow it was to his ego. You don’t think it’s fair that he’s doing it to the girls. like it’s some weird form of payback by proxy.

You also knew you had no business correcting him, but you did it anyways.

“That’s so fucking obnoxious” you mutter under your breath.

“What?” he asks.

“Nothing”

“No, what’s fucking obnoxious? Tell me”

“I just don’t think it’s right that you are exploiting another girl like that. Like she has feelings you know” you blurt out.

David just rolls his eyes and keeps editing. But you already started laying into him, so why stop now.

“David, you know what it’s like to be rejected. Why are you broadcasting these girl’s rejections all over the internet?” You sat up on the bed where you’d been lounging next to him.

“They literally gave permission. What the fuck do you want from me?” now he was getting defensive.

“I want you to think about how other people feel for once in your life!” 

He just stared back at you, shocked. You two bickered, yeah. But this was kind of a low blow for you. And it wasn’t even true. You knew David cared about people. He cared a LOT about people. He wouldn’t use footage if someone really didn’t want it out there (barring a few special circumstances) and he was actually really thoughtful and caring when he wasn’t over the top stressed about getting a vlog out.

After the words flew out of your mouth, a big part of you regretted them. But another part of you really was mad at him. Maybe you were mad that he was exploiting those girls’ feelings. Or maybe you were mad because you hurt his all those years ago. Or maybe you were mad because you had real feelings for him and you had no fucking clue where his head was at and it fucking sucked.

You grabbed the pillow that had been between the two of you, hugged it tight to your chest and face, and shouted “UGH!” to avoid just word vomiting everything you were thinking. It helped.

When you uncovered your face, David was still staring at you, puzzled.

You could see in his face that he was trying to work out why you were suddenly so mad about this. You’d never said anything before when he did this with Cindy or Tana or Kelsey all those months ago. Why now?

“Nat, what’s this about?” his voice was soft now. His eyes dug into yours, looking for an answer. “This can’t be about her.”

“No David, it’s about you.” Your words are less aggressive than before, but they still come out harsher than you’d like.

“Nat, what’s going on?”

“I just don’t want you to regret hurting them publicly. Regretting something like that really sucks, and sometimes you have to regret it for a fucking long time.”

That was a half truth, at least. The wheels were turning in his head. He turned his body to face yours, pulling his leg to the side so he could sit up straight too. His eyes still staring into yours.

“This is about me. Is this about us?”

You’d had a lot of deep conversations since the tides had turned and the two of you’d become closer, but this was the one subject you hadn’t broached since the brief mention of regrets on that flight to Boston.

Back into the pillow you went, face buried, avoiding. You stayed there, and he waited. You could hear him shift, leaning into the headboard. You could feel his eyes still on you.

“Natalie, it’s okay.”

Silence.

“Nat, I’m a big boy. My feelings aren’t hurt because you rejected me in high school, if that’s what this is about.”

You release a puff of air into the pillow. Still not coming out.

“Come on Nat. It’s really fine. Look, now I have boring insta models in love with me! I’ve recovered!” he jokes. He’s trying real hard to get you to come out of your pillow. He can’t see your eyes roll.

He puts a hand on your back and you melt into it. He pats you right between your shoulder blades, trying to comfort you. You take a breath and finally sit up. His hand falls off your back, but stays right next to your hip on the bed. 

“I don’t just regret hurting your feelings. I mean I do, but that’s not it.”

Now he’s picking at a loose thread from your hoodie right where his hand had landed on the bed, face puzzled still, trying to figure out your point. You were good with words, but way better when rehearsed.

Now it was your turn to talk. “David I have regretted so much for the past 10 fucking years, but the biggest thing is not letting myself feel what I felt. I didn’t let myself even have a chance and it was so fucking stupid. And now we’re here and I get to watch girls throw themselves at you and then I have literally no fucking clue where your head is at and you’re like the most important person in my life and it’s just all so fucked up. And it’s all my fucking fault.”

Silence. So you keep talking.

“You said you didn’t want to lose me, but I don’t want to lose you EVER. Not now or in a year or when you eventually find some model to marry. And it’s such bullshit for me to even be telling you this or to make you feel bad because it’s my fault.”

More silence.

“You know what. I should go. I think I need a vacation. I’ll see if Taylor is ready to cover for me or I’ll call Cas. I’ve got to..”

“Natalie.” He finally speaks, gently.

“What?” It comes out like a bite, full defense mode now. You said way more than you meant to and there was no going back now.

“Why do you think I’m going to marry a model?”

Of course THAT’S the part he dwells on. This time, you lean back into the headboard and bring the pillow up to cover your face. “UGH!” you groan again.

He laughs and pulls the pillow down, resting it in your lap and holding it there with your hands so you can’t hide again.

“You know that’s not my type. Besides, WE’RE married. Jason said so!” He’s really trying to get you to laugh now, and it works.

You let out a small laugh, and his hands that were holding the pillow down go to grab your arms atop the pillow as well. His thumb rubs at your arm softly. You finally look back at him.

“Natalie, remember how I was in love with you at 14?”

“Obviously, I think that’s how I got myself into this mess”

“Well I don’t feel that way anymore.”

“Great”

“No, when I was 14, I thought I loved you because you were cute and athletic and laughed at my jokes.”

“Awesome”

“But now, you’re still all those things, but you’re also like sooo much more. So I feel so much more too. You’re strong, you’re fucking hilarious, you get shit done, and you make me feel so much better than I ever did before. I feel secure with you here.”

You look in his eyes. It’s easy to tell that he’s being sincere. He keeps rubbing your arm, and you move your other hand to hold onto his wrist while you think.

But then you let go. “Why do you always act like you’ve been insulted when people insinuate something is going on between us? And I’m always the assistant, never the best friend or even friend.” The pain from those instances is coming back.

The hand that you’d let go, he grabs with his own. “I have spent so much time trying to not feel anything for you, first because I felt like I didn’t deserve you after everything when we were kids. Then because of Shawn.”

“Well why now? Why still?”

“You really wanna know? It’s a fucking list.” You nod. “One, because we’ve been friends forever and if we fuck that up I’ll never forgive myself. Two, you’re the ONLY person who can do what you do for me and I don’t want to fuck that up. Three, I still don’t fucking deserve you. I’ll fuck it up like I did with Liza and then everything will be fucked. Oh and four, I don’t want the fans to destroy you and I don’t know what they’d do.”

“Well then I guess we’ve been worrying about the same shit” you laugh. He smiles. “You didn’t fuck up with Liza though. You’ve got to stop blaming yourself for that. That was a team effort and no one deserves blame.”

“Yeah, but I can’t lose you like I lost her.” David looks down at your hands tangled together. You lift one to his cheek to bring him to look at you.

“How many times do I have to tell you, you aren’t going to lose me. Ever.”

You both stayed still and silent for a moment. And soon it was a moment too long. You couldn’t take the silence. “I’m gonna go to bed. Let’s finish the edit tomorrow. The people will live.” You get up and start walking around the bed and to the door.

It takes David a second to realize what’s happening, but he gets up and follows you, grabbing you by the shoulder as you’re about to cross into the hallway. You turn to face him.

“Wait,” he breathes. “Stay here.” 

Without even realizing what was happening, David’s mouth was on yours. Who moved first? It didn’t matter. What mattered right now was that your heart felt like it grew wings and your stomach flipped in all the right ways. His hands held your face and yours held on to his waist. Then his hands fell to your hips, pulling you closer towards him. When you pulled back to take a breath, you could see the need in his eyes, and your heart urged you to get closer to him. This kiss was 10 years coming. You were not ready to let it end.

“Ok,” you responded. “I’ll stay.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: okay yeah, this is smut. it’s only my second ever attempt at writing it so I hope it’s not the worst. ALSO this is totally skippable. If it isn’t your thing, the story still makes sense.

It was slow, gentle even. You grab his hand and walk toward the bed, stopping to put your glasses on the nightstand. David is all hands behind you. One hand on your waist, crawling to your hip and then across your stomach, the other brushing your hair off your neck so he can kiss you behind your ear. You have no control, taking in a deep gasp of air at the sensation and leaning back into his body. You can sense the heat radiating from him, hear his heavy breath in your ear, and feel his hips press into you. When you lean back, he sucks in his own deep breath and lets out a moan at the pressure you put on his length. He uses the hand on your hip to spin you back around so you’re facing him, and he steps between your legs, pulling your face into his hands again. The kiss is deep, life-altering, like you are melding into one. 

Your hands scrunch into his shirt, then slip under. As you trace your fingers up his chest, he pulls from the kiss and you can hear his breath catch. He traces his own hand under the back of your shirt and you straight up shudder. It’s like a tickle, but better. The heat pools in your stomach and you need more. You pull at his shirt till he lets you take it off him. His hands fall back to your waist and tug your shirt up and over your head until you’re chest to chest, skin to skin, breathing shared air heavily and staring into each other’s eyes. He guides you to sit back on the bed, then falls to his knees in front of you. He kisses you on the mouth first, probing your tongue with his, letting out a moan as you run your fingers through his hair. He drops his kisses to your neck, causing you to gasp more than once as he sucks in on your most sensitive spots. He takes his sweet precious time falling to your breasts, reaching behind to unhook your bra. You’re thankful you picked an easy one today when he kisses you right above each breast. He is slow, careful, and eager to make this last.

“You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to do this,” he whispers into your chest. This only urges you on. Your hands find his sweatpants and begin to tug them down. As if on cue, he pulls you into a standing position once again, and his hands fall to your joggers. When his hands slip under the waistband, all the air escapes from your body. Both of your pants are kicked across the room. Meanwhile, your hands roam to his waistband, palming him through his boxers. When you finally grip him, a deep moan escapes from his throat. He pulls you back in for another kiss as you yank his boxers down and he steps out of them, helping you out of your own panties at the same time. This time, he guides you backwards onto the bed and into the pillows. He hovers over you, one leg between yours, holding himself up with his elbow and knee. His eyes rake across your body and you admire him from below, his strong chest, sparkling eyes, and the face you’ve loved since 14.

“You are fucking incredible,” you tell him. “So, so good.”

He smiles and breathes a quiet laugh. “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he says back. “I’m never fucking letting you go”

You whimper at his words because you can feel that he means them. At that, he presses one hand under your pillow and the other drops to your core. First he is rubbing lightly, then less light, and then he is inside you with one finger, then two. You’d been wet since that first embrace, maybe even before, so your body was sooo ready. His movements are intentional. His knee, the one holding him up, starts to slip back, lowering him closer onto you. His hardness is now pressed into your hip and Davids hips roll almost involuntarily into you at the new pressure and light friction. The combination of the sound he makes and the friction from his fingers sends you right over the edge.

“Oh my god, Dave” you whimper.

You still can’t believe you’re here. Your best friend, pressing into you, peppering kisses on your jawline while you gasp through the best orgasm of your life so far. One of your hands is buried at the nape of his neck while the other holds him in place, nails digging into his hip until you come down from your high. 

He’s staring into your eyes when you finally catch your breath, smiling like he’s proud or something. “Holy shit, Nat.”

“Hmm?”

“That was the hottest fucking thing. Hotter than I imagined and I imagined it a fucking lot.”

The idea of David imagining you cumming makes your heart flutter. You drag his face in for another kiss and gently bite at his lip when you pull back. “YOU are fucking hot,” you tell him. Another laugh, like he doesn’t really believe you. He falls to your side now, lightly dragging his fingertips up and down from your stomach to your collarbones. His erection is pressed into your side now. It seems like he’s content to just lay there and relax, but you’re still way too turned on to sleep. You roll onto your side and push him onto his back, swinging a leg over him and pressing yourself to his side. He pulls an arm around your shoulders and cuddles you in, till you’re nearly on your stomach on half his chest. You look up at his face.

“You’ve really imagined that before?” You trace swirls on his chest and stomach with light drags of your fingernails, watching his stomach suck in each time it tickles.

“Are you kidding? All the time. You know how often I fucking jerk off.”

“But me?.. I thought… all that porn…”

“I mean yeah, the porn helps, but Nat, you have had me so fucked up… I’m sorry, it probably shouldn’t.. you’re a person and…”

“Me too.”

“What?” he asks, confused.

“I’ve imagined it too. Maybe not as many times as you cause god knows you shower a LOT, but I have too.”

“Well damn, we coulda been doing that together for all this time?” he jokes. But you know that made him feel good.. knowing that you think about him that way. That you have wanted it too. 

“Guess so,” you say, going in for a kiss and using one hand to finally grip his length. You’re honestly impressed with his patience because holy shit, he is hard.

“Wait, babe.” he says pulling his head from the kiss and holding your cheek, “You don’t have to. I’ll be fine.” You can tell he means it too. Your heart almost can’t take him.

“I want to.” You say. “I told you, I’ve imagined this too.”

You don’t know if it was your words or the way you cradled his balls before spreading the wetness from his tip on his length, but the moan he let out when you kissed him next was otherworldly. You keep working on his length. It made you feel sexier than you’d ever felt, knowing you could bring that sound from his throat. You’d been with quiet guys before and you hated not being able to tell how they really were feeling. The sounds David made spurned you on and let you know what felt good and what felt really good. You work him from the top back down with your hand, varying the tightness and the speed, taking time to give attention to the sensitive tip. The little gasps and moans were quite possibly the hottest sounds you’d ever heard. You go in with both hands now as his mouth falls from yours to your neck. He tries to suck bites behind your ear and at your collarbone. The hand that had been around your shoulder is now gripping your ass and pulling you into him while the other holds tightly at your neck and jaw. They way he clings to you like he’s afraid you might vanish causes the heat at your core to turn into an aching. As you continue to stroke up and down his hardness, you lick your fingers to add some wetness. 

“Holy fuck, Nat. Holy fuck. So good.”

His hips start to lift from the bed into your hands, but cause new friction at your center where your leg is slung over his. You find yourself nearly grinding on his hip and leg desperate for friction as David is at the mercy of your hands. You turn your eyes towards him, wanting to watch his face when he falls apart, but instead he stops moving. 

“Wait, wait,” he says. He pushes your hands off him and grips them in his instead. 

He flips you over, pinning your hands above your head momentarily while he lays on top of you, hips between your legs and mouth sucking hard just above your collarbone. You moan, knowing it will leave a mark. He lets go of your hands and pulls his down to hold your cheek with one and hold himself up with the other. 

“I want you. So fucking bad. But we don’t have to do this. Not if you’re not sure.” he says.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been more sure” you say, pulling him back in for a kiss. You moan at the feeling of his length now pressed against your most sensitive spot. Right there. You’d never been the type to obsess over penises, not ever the ones of guys you were dating, but you’d imagined him enough times thrusting into you in your dreams. You were ready for the real thing. “Condom? I’m on the pill, but like, are you clean..? I hate to ask but after Liza I don’t know what you…”

“I haven’t been with anyone since, but I can get a condom. Hold o…”

“You promise?”

“Natalie, I can’t do this with people I don’t love. It just doesn’t work with me.”

“Okay, come here.” You say, even though he’s already right there. You grab his length and position it, and it rubs against you making you shudder.

“I can grab a cond…”

“No, I want to feel you. All of you.” you interrupt.

“Fuck,” David groans through hooded eyes. The power of words. With that, he pushes deep into you, forcing all the air out of your body for a moment. 

You cry out because the pressure and the friction are so good and you see David’s jaw fall open. He starts slow, but deep. You can feel your orgasm coming like a freight train before he’s even been inside of you for 30 seconds. In, out, deep, hard, back, forward. He presses a hand to your clit and you feel yourself contract around him, pulling him in deeper if that was even possible. The orgasm rolls through you and your back arches up off the bed as you cry his name. 

“Fucking hell, already?” he freezes.

“Don’t stop, babe, you feel so good,” you say when you catch enough breath to talk.

“I had to if you wanted me to last more than a minute. You are so tight around me it’s like fucking heaven”

“I want to make you feel good, Dave. Do what feels good.”

He lets out a huge breath of air, grabbing your hips now and hitching your legs higher around his hips. He thrusts into you fast now, but still just as deep. He fills you up and grips your hips so tightly it hurts in the best way. He tries to kiss you, but his heavy breathing and the moans coming from both of you get in the way, and his head falls to your neck. His movements start to grow erratic, his pace inconsistent. You’re approaching your third orgasm of the night.

“Don’t stop baby. You’re so fucking good. Don’t stop!” you whine out. “I’m so close baby. Come with me.”

One hand comes up to grip your neck tightly as he buries his face into your neck. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, pretty girl” he rasps. As he drives his hips harder and deeper, you feel your body start to tighten, gripping him from the inside. He moans, rutting himself into you as he chases his high, sending you over the edge with him. You grip him tightly to you as you both catch your breath. 

“That was…” he says

“Perfect?” you finish for him.

“Perfect, incredible, possibly the best. Just. Wow.” he says. You both giggle.

When he eventually pulls out and rolls off of you, any potential awkward feelings of having just slept with your best friend (and boss) just aren’t there. Somehow, it feels like the most natural thing in the world. You peck him on the forehead and go to use the restroom, then climb in the shower to clean yourself up. When he comes to join you, it feels like you should have been doing this for years. When you pull on one of his shirts and he drags you back to bed, pulling you against him, you feel like that’s where you absolutely belong.

“Nat..” he says into the dark of the room.

“Dave..?” you respond.

“I fucking love you.”

“I fucking love you too.”


	5. Chapter 5

You were lucky the next day. No one was scheduled to come over, though you and David both woke up to approximately 9,000 missed texts. 

Joe: I thought you were posting. Did you not finish? Do I need to come help? What’s going on?

Jason: Just checking in since you haven’t posted! I’m with the kids but let me know if you need me!

Then the other 8,997 were from various other VS members making jokes or needing something or the other. 

You woke up wrapped in David’s arms, a place you never thought you’d find yourself. Like that time on the plane, David had woken up first. A rare occurrence. And he was watching you while you slept. 

You smiled up at him. He leaned down to kiss your forehead first, then you kissed him back, this time on the mouth. 

“Good morning”

“Good morning to you. How long have you been awake?”

“Not too long. How are you feeling?”

You twisted in his arms so you were on your stomach looking up at him, arms wrapped around him and one leg slung over one of his. “Amazing. You?”

“Better than ever.”

You smiled and rested your head on his chest. “So where do we go from here?” you ask.

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean. I love you. I’m not going anywhere, but like what comes next with us?” you clarify.

“I love you too.” he kisses your forehead again.

You laugh, “that didn’t answer my question.”

“Well I say we tell the world. This is what they want, isn’t it?”

“Isn’t that kind of a big step though?”

“Nat, they’ve been shipping us for months. They’ve read into every little thing that we do. Sometimes I feel like some of them know us better than we know us. Don’t you think they’ll be happy?”

“I don’t know.. I just think it’s a little risky. I don’t want something to go bad because of the world out there and for it to change us. You know?”

David thought on that for a minute. “Okay, so what are you thinking?”

“Well hear me out,” you sat up now, legs criss cross, one resting on his outstretched legs as you sat facing him. “What if we kept this for us for a while?”

“Like a secret? I don’t want you to be a secret..” His hand gripped your thigh, the one that was resting on his. 

“Dave, I’m not saying either of us is ashamed of the other or whatever. We’ll still be us. But I think we should sort of protect this. I know what we have and I am so confident in us, but I am not confident in the world out there. Remember how fans have turned on people in the past?”

“But then, won’t we be denying one another when people ask questions about us?– cause you know they will.”

“Babe, we’ve been in LA long enough to know a little about acting.”

“I get where you’re coming from. Just… are you sure? I know how fans can get. I don’t want to hurt you. Babe..”

“Dave. You’re not going to hurt me. As your executive assistant, I think that’s our best move. Especially if we don’t want everything else to change. And I love what we have so I don’t want everything to change.”

“What about our friends?” he asks.

“What do you think? You’ve kept things from them before– things close to your heart. What do you think we should do?”

He grabbed your hands in his and held them in his lap. You could see his mind working through your proposition. “I think if we’re gonna keep it between us, it’s gotta just be between us. They can’t know until we’re ready for everyone to know. It’s too much to ask them to keep it a secret… it’s not fair to them.”

You nod.

“Is that going to be okay with you? It means we can’t be public when we’re with them. We have to act normal. I’m gonna have a hard time with it, but I’ll do it if that’s what you think is best. I just don’t want you to feel hurt.”

“David. I’m your executive assistant, and your friend. If we go public too soon, people will have all kinds of things to say about mixing work with pleasure and what the fuck ever. I don’t want to hear it. I just want to be us. The way we know how to be, and the way we are now.”

“It’s gonna mean a lot of sneaking around. That’s kind of hot actually.” he admits.

“I know. See, this won’t be so bad!”

“I fucking love you. You know that, right? You always look out for me.”

“That’s what you do when you love someone, I think.”

“I can’t believe I get to love you. After 10 years, honestly longer, and you’re finally mine.” he says, pulling you back into his arms, into the same position you’d been in a few minutes earlier.

You lay there together, your hand tracing swirls on his chest, his stroking your hair. It was the most comfortable thing. 

Soon you’d have to get up and face the world, and your friends. But you were ready. You had a plan. And when the world and your friends were gone again, you’d have each other.


	6. Chapter 6

A little while before everyone showed up, the two of you made sure you were clothed before you were back in his bed editing. Just your typical day after the vlog was supposed to be posted. You got up and let Joe, Zane, and Carly in and went about your business like normal.

This was just about as easy as you expected, and you were glad to not have the pressure and opinions from your friends weighing you down, especially so soon after so much just changed.

“Nat, would you look at this now?”

You watched the vlog. It now sat at 3:36 seconds instead of the 4:20 it was at last night. He took out the bit that bothered you. You didn’t even need to ask. When the video ended, you smiled at him and he gave you a little wink. Joe, who was now watching over your shoulder was puzzled.

“What happened to the bit with..”

“I didn’t like how it fit so I trashed it.” David interrupted.

“But now you need to fill like a minute of footage.” Joe argued.

“We’ll figure it out.”

So that’s what you did. David called up Jason who arranged for a tour bus to be rented for the vlog and you and everybody went for a little adventure into Malibu, a place you loved. He sat next to you, something that doesn’t always happen, but that would probably happen a lot more from here on out. You could feel his eyes on you as you looked out over the ocean and when he climbed to your side to get a better view, he kneeled and leaned into your back. Your breath caught at the contact.

Physical contact was going to be the hard part, you thought. As soon as he settled back into his side of the row where you were seated, his eyes met yours and the two of you just laughed and shook your heads in the wind. You knew he was thinking the same thing. This was going to be interesting. 

The vlog got finished, everyone went home, and nothing changed. Except the room where you slept at night. Exactly how you liked it.

This was how your days went most of the time. There were some nights where you went to bed early and slept in your own room, but you also weren’t married and that was okay. You were always the type that liked having your own space. And you knew he was still there, and he knew right where to find you. A few times he joined you in your bed, cuddled up in a much smaller space than when you were in his room. You loved those times because your room was a more sacred place. People were always in and out of his room, but your room was yours. 

One day, not quite out of the blue, your friend Reggie called you up and announced that he would be moving to LA. He said he’d had enough of the cold and of the cold people in chicago (surprising because you LOVED Chicago and it’s people) and he needed a fresh start. Of course. you offered up the guest room while he looked for a permanent place. You didn’t need to check with Dave. The house, though it was in his name, was very much both of yours. This meant a few weeks of being sneakier than before, though you were pretty sure Reggie was onto you. 

Sometimes, you traveled. You loved traveling with David, even before everything changed. You preferred when it was just the two of you, but usually there was an entourage because David needed footage and the VS was there to provide. You continued booking separate hotel rooms for you and David, needing to keep up your cover, but that didn’t mean they always both got used.

One trip was different though. When you went to New York, a city you loved, David suggested just getting a big suite for you two to share. You could easily get away with claiming you did not sleep together. Plus then it’d be easier to sneak around. 

Your heart was 100% on board with this idea, but mentally you were a little nervous. 

The hotel suite was incredible. Panoramic views of the city. You literally could not WAIT to have it to yourselves. But, work had to be done. Dave spent the day traipsing around the city while you visited with an old friend, handled some business calls, and caught up to Dave in Times Square. That idiot had literally been trying to kick a water bottle into a recycling bin like some tik tok video for hours, and while David was a talented athlete with a special skill for trick shots, you were a realist. But, you couldn’t talk him out of it. Thank god the dude from the actual video showed up thanks to one of the hundreds of fans that had crowded around. David got some good footage and you didn’t have to stay there till you were 75.

That night, you all went out to dinner, something that didn’t happen too often these days, and when you got home, everyone gathered on the couch to hang out. One by one, people left to go to their rooms and go to bed. Finally, it was you, David, and Jonah. You went to go get yourself ready for sleep and David must have said something to Jonah because when you came out of the bathroom, it was 2:30am and Jonah was finally gone. The bedroom was dark and empty, so you wandered back into the living room and saw David standing facing the glass. The city looked amazing at night and this view was simply incredible, made better by the sight of the boy you couldn’t get enough of. He must not have heard you leave the bathroom because you were able to creep up behind him. He didn’t jump, though, when you wrapped your arms around his stomach, under where his arms were resting and pulled him back into you. He reached one arm back and pulled you so your head was peeking out from under his arm. The smell of him was intoxicating. After a big travel day of being “normal” you were so glad to have him to yourself.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is smutty

With your front pressed into him, the view of New York City with all it’s glistening lights brightening the room, and the intoxicating smell of that man, you were certain you were in heaven.

“Hey”

“Hey”

“Pretty incredible, isn’t it?”

“It’s something else.” he says. He pulls on your arm, tugging you so now you’re hugging into his chest. 

“I could just look at this for the rest of my life, I think.” you say. 

“Come here.” David pulls away, grabbing your hand and walking you over to the couch. He sits down and you sit next to him, legs folded under you, your knees resting at his legs. He wraps his arm around your waist and pulls you closer to him.

Every light in the room was off, but the space was illuminated by the life of the city. Together you sat and took in the panoramic view. Just the two of you.

You took it slow that night. Kissing between breaks of talking about your lives. How you never imagined you’d be right there, right then. Sucking love bites on his collarbone and him cherishing your body. You found yourself pinned underneath him layed out on the couch, his body resting on yours between your legs. His head rested on your chest and you stroked his hair, still enjoying the glistening lights of the city.

“How did I get so lucky?” he asks you, eyes still glued to the window. 

“It wasn’t luck, babe. Nothing you have is luck. You worked for everything you have.” you tell him.

He pushes himself up on his forearms and looks at you. You smile up at him, and he lowers himself down to capture your mouth with his. You welcome the push of his tongue at your lips when he deepens the kiss, a moan escapes you. Your hands slip under the back of his shirt and climb up his back, then down again the the waistband of his pants where you slip your fingers just underneath. 

Now he’s the one who lets out a moan as your fingers press his hips into yours, his growing bulge meeting your core. You whimper at the pressure, encouraging him to grind himself into you. You’re both still fully clothed, you in a PJ set and David in gym shorts and a merch shirt, but you can’t be bothered right now to take them off. 

You make out lazily for a while longer, till both of your control erodes. Now his hips are rocking against you at a pace that has you starting to see stars from the friction alone. 

“Babe” he moans into your ear, then moving to suck your neck right below. You can tell he needs more, and you do too. You grip his shirt at the shoulders and he takes the cue and lets you pull it off of him. He unbuttons the top of your pajama set, letting the silk fall open revealing your breasts to him. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he says diving down to suck at your collarbone, then peppering kisses to each breast. You arch your back and press into him harder, snaking your arms now to his front, fingers reaching for his waistband, but not quite able to reach.

“I need you.” you whimper, and David is happy to oblige. You are both a mess of hands and fabric being pulled off of bodies, and then his hand is on you, then in you, testing the waters. You gasp at the intrusion that feels so good. 

“David, please.” you beg.

He pulls his hand out and lines himself up, plunging into you with a heavy release of breath. His hips grind and circle and you have officially found heaven, when you decide to change it up. You press a hand to his chest. “Wait,” you say, and push him backwards. Confused, he rocks backwards onto bent knees and the you feel the loss immediately. But you know it will be worth it. 

You push yourself onto your own knees and push him backwards till he’s lying on the long couch, pulling a pillow behind his head. You crawl back up his body, pumping his length on the way up and earning a “holy fuck” from David’s lips. You straddle him now, hovering above his length. When you lean down to kiss him, you sink yourself back onto him and he grips your hips in a way that makes you feel like the most precious thing in the world. He pulls you down hard. 

You can see his eyes tracing every inch of you and he looks ready to devour you. The darkness and hunger in his eyes adds to the heat pooling at your center. He lets you take the lead, setting the pace. One hand cups your cheek and then slides down to your shoulder where he is trying to not grip too hard. His other hand can’t decide between your hip and your breasts, opting to rotate between the two. He cherishes your body and the heat is overwhelming, overflowing. His mouth has fallen open and he takes in the sight of you riding him with the New York City skyline in the background. The delicious sounds coming from both of you fill the room. Then, he snaps. 

It’s too much for him, but he isn’t ready to end this. He sits back up and twists your bodies now so he’s leaning against the back of the couch, you still writhing in his lap. He likes this angle now because he has leverage to suck on your neck, not worried about leaving marks and he can use his legs to thrust up into you. 

It’s all too much, the way he is thrusting to meet you and the way this new angle adds friction to your most sensitive spots. You are gasping out his name with no regard for any neighbors who might hear. 

“Dave, David, Dave, oh my fuck Dave” and you feel yourself bare hard down on him. He tries to ride through it. Sucking on your chest, then moaning when he feels your insides grip him hard. 

“Oh my god Nat, you feel so good. SO fucking good, I don’t know if I can make it babe.”

“It’s okay Dave. Babe let it go.” 

He gives a few last thrusts as you try to work him through your own aftershocks, and when he lets go deep inside you, you see stars and feel yourself shake as you come together, gasping for air. 

He holds you close as you both finally still. Then he laughs. 

“What’s so funny?” you ask, pulling back to look at him, puzzled.

“That was fucking unbelievable, and I just know 18 year old me would have died if I told him he’d be doing this, here, in just a few short years.”

You laugh and lean forward, your head resting on his shoulder. “It is pretty crazy” you whisper into his neck.

“You know what’s not crazy?” he asks. You lean back to look at him again. “Being with you. I think I always knew, or at least hoped, we’d end up together. I just wish it hadn’t taken so long.”

Your heart swelled up. David was always such a romantic, but he didn’t always talk like one. You leaned in to kiss him, holding his face in your hands. “We’ve got all the time in the world now. But we should probably go to bed. You need to kick some ass tomorrow in that nerf gun challenge or whatever the hell it is. I want to watch you light Jonah up.”

You climbed off his lap, gathered your pajamas, and went to go clean yourself up in the bathroom while David tidied up the place so nothing would look too suspicious to anyone coming in tomorrow. By the time you were done in the bathroom, David was waiting for you in bed, still shirtless, where you crawled into his arms. 

He pulled you in so your back was to his chest, and you fell asleep wrapped tightly in each other.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, when the bright sun woke you up, you were still wrapped in his arms. You must have flinched when you woke, because you could feel david rustling behind you. You let out a massive exhale and settled yourself back against his body, and he pulled you tighter to him, planting a kiss in your hair. 

“hmmmmm” you smiled. You pulled his hand that was wrapped in yours at your chest up to kiss it right back. He shifted then so that his hips were right behind yours. You could feel every part of him. You could have stayed there all day long, but you knew people would be pounding on the suite door in no time. You’d need to make sure the other bedroom looked slept in and that there were no remnants of the night you’d had previously laying around the room. 

“Time to get up,” you hummed gently, giving his hand a squeeze and moving to get up. You sat up in the bed.

“Noooo, stay. Please?” he begged. His hand snaked around your waist, attempting to pull you back into his warmth.

You let out a gentle chuckle. “Babe, we have a reputation to keep. Jase and Joe, and Jonah can’t show up to us in bed together.”

He pulled you closer, his face now nuzzling your hip. “I don’t care what they know. Please, stay. I just wanna cuddle. And kiss maybe. 5 minutes Nat. Please?”

There was no way you could refuse his pleading. His words caused your heart to swell and heat to pool in your belly. This boy… man, you should say, drove you crazy in all the best and worst ways, but you could not say no when he was needy like this. You twisted in his arms to look at him now. “5 minutes, but no funny business. We’ve got a busy day!”

His giant, goofy grin, the one he always uses when he gets his way spread across his face and you leaned down to kiss him. He reached his neck up in order to deepen the kiss, but you pulled back for a moment. “Remember, no funny business!”

“I would never!” he laughed as he went back in for the kiss, pulling your body down to press against his, layed flat out on top of him. 

For a good while over 10 minutes (clearly he’d won), the two of you were a mess of heavy breathing, fabric rubbing, and sloppy kisses. Finally, you got wise and checked the time, realizing how you’d let time get away from you. 

“Babe!” you shot up, causing David to whimper at the loss of your heat and presence. “We’ve got to get up! Go get in the shower! They’re all gonna be up here in like 15 minutes!”

“You could shower with me,” he sat up. You’d moved to the edge of the bed to stand, but David was not far behind you, slipping a hand around your waist and now kissing that spot behind your ear.

You twisted in his arms. “As much as I’d love to, I need to make sure the boys don’t walk in wondering when we learned how to properly make beds since it’s clear we only used one. I love you, now get!!” you pecked him on the lips, then got up to go fix the room. 

He grumbled, but obliged. You could hear him later taking care of himself in the shower, and while you wished you were in there to help him out, you knew what (who) he was thinking about and you knew you had work to do. 

You mussed up the bed in the other room and got yourself ready for the day. You would be jetting around the city today and you had a few bits planned with David separate from the Nerf competition. Then you’d be coming back here for your stuff and heading out on another late night flight. 

When the guys showed up, they were none the wiser about what was going on between you and David and you were thankful for that. You knew what to do– keep your distance, keep everyone alive, get everyone where they needed to be. This was pretty much how you did your job every day. Today would be no different.

Except it was. You couldn’t be sure if it was real or you were imagining it, but you felt David’s eyes on you all day long. Even with people around all over, even when the camera was out, it was like at least half of his focus was on you. You can’t say you minded. You loved when he treated you like you were super important, which was something he had to tread lightly on in front of others to keep speculation at bay. You never took it personally when he didn’t give you his focus out in public because he made sure you knew how valued you were as soon as you were back to your private life together. It was a show, a charade, a game you had to play. It was still worth it to you because it kept you safe, your heart safe, and it protected the special thing you had with your best friend.

But today, David was being pretty shit actor. He pressed into your shoulder when you were tracking Jonah on your phone, a space where he’d usually keep distance. He bumped into you while walking the streets of NYC the way you do when you are close with someone. At one point, he had his arm around you while filming for his video. To be fair, he also had his arm around Jason, but this was still something that he just did not do. 

On top of that, any spare moment, he would find ways to whisper sweet words to you that made you blush. Or he’d be across the room undressing you with his eyes. A couple times, when he knew no one was looking, he’d send stupid (adorable) little air kisses to you from across rooms. Part of you thought he was doing it for your reaction, you always blushed, giggled, then gave him the “you better stop that” look to show you meant business.

When you’d finally made it through all the work of the day, you guys swung back by the hotel so everyone could grab bags. The hotel staff offered to bring it all down, but David was quirky about some of his stuff so the two of you went up to the room to grab everything. When he finally had you alone in the elevator, David didn’t waste a second pressing you up against the wall, practically forcing the air out of your lungs. 

“I miss you” he said.

“I’ve been right here all day!” you kissed him gently. 

“Yeah but I just wanna be alooooone” he whined. 

You laughed. He never wants to be alone! “We’re going home soon, bub. You’ll make it.” you told him. 

His head fell down to your shoulder. “Ughhhhh” he grumbled.

You laughed again, stroking the back of his neck and into his hair, earning a hum from David’s mouth. The elevator door dinged open and he turned to lean against the wall next to you when some older looking guests walked in. He made those needy eyes at you the rest of the way up to your floor.

When you got to the doorway, you pulled out the key to unlock it and David pushed it open. “You know, we have this place to ourselves right now…” he suggested. You bent down to pick up your last bag and he snuck up behind you for a hug, pulling you into him and reaching his head down to kiss the back of your neck. It was absolutely turning you on, but you just didn’t have time. 

“Hmmmmm babe, I would love to. I really, really would. But we’ve got a helicopter to catch and if we are late, we’re absolutely going to miss our flight. Do you want to be stuck here with Jonah for another night? Or would you rather go back home? With me?”

“UGhh” he groaned again. “You’re right” he said (you always were).

And so you traveled back to LA by helicopter, then plane, then the front seat of the Tesla which Taylor drove to the airport to pick you up. David driving. The whole journey full of stolen glances, “accidental” arm and leg brushing, and more than one request from David about joining the mile high club.

You weren’t sure what had gotten into him, but you were pretty excited to have him to yourself at home to find out.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate all the kudos and especially the comments! This is my first fanfic, so it's been a learning experience!
> 
> Also, man were we ever blessed with those chicago pictures, am I right?

All you wanted to do when you got home was sleep, but David wasn’t about to let that happen. After dropping Jason, Joe, and Jonah at their houses, the two of you (with Taylor in the back, since she brought the car to LAX) headed home. You’d taken a red eye, in typical David fashion, and landed after midnight, so Taylor was happy to go home and leave you two to go to bed. You’d slept a bit on the plane, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

“See ya in the morning” she called out when she walked from the Tesla to her car.

“Not too early-- get some sleep!” you called back. David was hauling out your bigger bags and you grabbed the carry-ons and went to open the door. You turned on a few lights, and went to set your stuff in your room and David’s in his. 

You’d hardly had a chance to drop the bags on his desk chair when you heard the rolling bags abandoned in the hallway and David was tackling you to the bed.. he tried to be gentle, but his eagerness took control.

The wind was knocked out of you, but you still giggled. To be fair, you did make him wait through a VERY long day. You were flat on your back with David beside you propped up on his forearm looking down at you as you laughed.

“Yeah I could have been a more graceful with that, but I was trying to be romantic!” he pouted. 

“So romantic-- nothing like being launched onto the bed in a full tackle. It’s what dreams are made of!” you teased.

He cracked a smile, kind of embarrassed. Then he buried his head in the crook of your neck and grumbled like a scolded child, but you knew he was laughing.

You took a deep breath and began to relax. “It’s so good to be home.” you spoke into the air. Then you turned your head to where David’s was buried and kissed right at his ear. “Come here.”

David untucked his head from your neck and hoisted himself above you, legs tangling with yours, his weight balanced between resting on you and on the arm that was now holding him up. You held his cheek and pulled him in for a kiss. It was deep and it was hot. One of those “it’s been way too long” kisses, even though it was only about 10 hours ago that he had you alone in that elevator. 

You hummed into the kiss and his thigh was pressing right at your core. You knew he was eager, you could tell all day long-- but it had been a long day and you didn’t realize how eager you’d become too. With his leg putting varying pressure between your leg, the heat pooling in your belly soon turned to liquid. 

David’s hand was tracing every curve of your body and was already under your shirt and teasing your breasts. He loved to scoop them in his hands, gently squeezing before teasing you some more. When your hands began tugging up his shirt to take it off of him though, he knew you were ready. 

“Fucking finally” he groaned out, moving to let you take his shirt all the way off. 

You laughed. “Eager much?” you teased, moving to take off your own shirt.

“I’ve been waiting all day!” he argued. “Do you have any idea how hard it is knowing I can’t touch you unless we’re fucking alone? It KILLS me.”

“I know babe, but the build up makes it pretty hot when we finally are.”

“Yeah, but I just want to touch you and kiss you all the time.”

Oh man, when David talked to you like that, filled with desire, and being pretty fucking needy, your stomach did backflips. “Come. Here.” you demanded. It was your turn to be eager.

You pulled him in for a kiss, causing the arm holding him up to give out for a moment. Your tongue searching for his, pulling him impossibly closer to you.

One hand held the back of his head, stroking into his soft hair which he loved. The other dug into his hips as you moved him where you wanted him. When his length, still fully clothed ground against your core, he moaned and you gasped into the kiss. The hand you’d had on his hip crept to his front where you slipped under the waistband of his sweatpants but above his boxers, palming him. He was rock hard between your legs. When your hand finally gripped him, his breath caught in his throat and he let out a strangled moan, like he’d been waiting for this for days. 

“Jesus fuck.” he muttered, head hanging low, forehead touching yours now, breath heavy.

You took advantage now, trying to see how far you could push him. You stroked him a few more times, then stopped.

“Naaaat” he whined, falling back down into your shoulder. You giggled. You had to. “Not fair.” he argued. His hands moved now to take charge, slipping under your waistband at your hips and trying to shimmy you out of your pants. Instead of letting him, you push him over so he’s on his back and climb up onto your knees, pulling your pants and panties off while he took off his own, his eyes never leaving your body. He scooted up the bed so his back was propped on the pillows, then grabbed your hand and dragged you to him, collapsing on his chest. 

One leg slipped between his and your arms were slung lightly around his neck. You kissed him slow and deep and it was driving him crazy, wanting more. Your pace becoming unbearable. His hardness was pressed between his stomach and your hip and he twitched at every move you made, desperate. You ground your core on his leg and it was a lot for the both of you, and you let out a moan.

“Babe.” He said, firmly,

“Hmmm?”

“I....” he couldn’t finish his statement. His head flew back as you ground on him again.

“I love you” you said, knowing exactly what you were doing. 

“I love you too,” he finally gasped out. “But you’re trying to kill me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You feigned innocence, pulling back and moving to straddle his hips, now his length was just below your core. Instead of going back in for another kiss, you leaned back, giving him a full view of your body, pressing yourself on his hardness, and using one hand to reach behind you to toy with him. He choked on his breath, groaning out.

“Ok that’s enough,” he argued, eyes flashing dark as he drank in the sight of you. His hands gripped your ass tight and pulled you to him, grinding your wet heat up and down his length. You couldn’t keep in your own moan. Now he was teasing you and it was quickly becoming too much. “You think it’s funny to tease me, huh?” he smirked, but in the least aggressive way possible. “Two can play that game.”

One of his hands reached to your front to drive you closer to the edge and it worked. When he slipped in two fingers and worked his thumb with just the right pressure at just the right pace, you were tipping over that edge. Your head fell to his neck as you gasped and whined into his ear. “Don’t stop baby. So good. So good...... holy fuck!”

He worked you through your high and you collapsed on his chest, catching your breath. 

“That was hot. You are so fucking hot” he said.

“I’ll show you hot. My turn.” you smirked, sliding yourself off his lap now, and bringing your hand now to his hardness, which was covered in your wetness by now. You stroked him from the bottom, cradling his balls for a moment, then back up, swirling around at the top. You went in with both hands, then lowered your mouth on his length. You didn’t do this often, because it made him feel selfish for whatever reason, but you loved how it made him squirm. 

He shuddered, then groaned. “Oh my god Nat that feels so...” you took the whole length of him deep and his head flew up for a moment, like he’d lost control. When you pulled back, he relaxed back down. “so incredible. Fucking oh my god.”

You kept at it, loving the sounds he was making, his hips involuntarily beginning to lift up to meet your mouth and your strokes. “So good babe. So good to me.”

“Mmmhmmmm” you hummed with him still in your mouth, sending vibrations through his body.

“Baby I’m not gonna last if you don’t stop” he moaned.

“Mmmhmmmm” you responded, letting him know that’s exactly what you intended. You’d made him wait all day long, you were happy to let him have this. He could only groan in response. His hands tangled in your hair, his eyes glued to you when he was able to keep them open.

You picked up the pace, taking him deep, then gently, using your hands to work him up and down, then deep again. “Babe I’m gonna... babe... babe...” and then he tensed up. You pulled back to pump him through his orgasm. It came crashing through him after a long day of waiting. He shuddered through his release. The look on his face when he came, the way he looked at you like the most wonderful thing in the world, that was really all you needed. 

You crawled back up his body, gently stroking him till he’d come down from his high. You kissed him on the cheek as he caught his breath. 

“Naaaaat. I wanted us to come together.” he whined. Always the romantic.

“You’re gonna need to get cleaned up after that one” you responded.

“Could we at least do that together?” He leaned in for a kiss.

“I was kind of counting on it.” You kissed him right back. It seemed like neither of you were going to be sleeping any time too soon.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this one from David's POV to mix things up a bit. Not sure how I feel about it, but posting it anyways!

Natalie didn’t want to go out one night. You were confused because she’d been talking about it all day like she’d planned to go. She was even talking with Carly about an outfit, but then when the time came and everyone was over and you were calling her name to get in the front seat of the Tesla, she wouldn’t come out.

It wouldn’t be the first time you went out without her. Sometimes she stayed home because of hangovers or headaches or just needing alone time, but she always encouraged you to go out anyways to have fun with your friends and get whatever footage you needed. But you never had as much fun as when she was with you. Natalie was such a big part of the fun for you since you didn’t really like to drink or lose control in that way. But Nat brought you laughter and you loved how your friends loved her. 

But today it didn’t make sense. She was coming with, and then she wasn’t. And people were already loading your car up to go.

“One sec guys, Natalie must have fallen asleep. I’ll be right out,” you called as they headed through the garage and climbed in the car. 

The house was empty now, so you didn’t bother to knock. When you walked in the room, Natalie was in her bed. Full makeup, but under the covers, laptop open beside her as she scrolled through Netflix.

“Hey what the fuck. Didn’t you hear me calling you?” you asked, walking towards the bed, moving to sit on the edge closest to her. 

“I’m not going.” she said flatly.

“But you said…”

“And then I changed my mind” she interrupted.

“Nat, what? Everyone is in the car. Lets go. I want you to go. It will be fun.” you argued as patiently as you could.

“I just don’t want to go there, okay?”

“Go where?” Now you were lost.

“That guy’s house. I didn’t realize where we were going and I am just not feeling it. But you go and have fun! I’ll be here when you get back.”

You had to think for a minute. Puzzled over her words. You’d been to a million house parties, including to this guys house. Why was it suddenly a problem now? Your mind rushed to the worst possible reason.

“Wait, did he try something with you? Cause I will fuck him up if he..”

“No, no, no. It’s not that” Natalie stopped you. “He’s never done anything to me. I just don’t love the crowd that goes to those parties. I can be confident and fit in a lot of places, but I just can not do that crowd tonight.”

You were supposed to go to an acquaintance of Dom’s house. You’d been there before. Somehow Dom befriended a rich guy who hangs out with a mix of real models, insta models, and porn stars. Even some you were familiar with. On top of that, Dom would let in any thirsty, halfway attractive fan if they gave him enough attention, so fans of yours always managed to get in too. These weren’t your favorite parties either, there were always lots of girls throwing themselves at you, but you knew it was mostly for clout or money so you were good at dodging them. You would quit going to these parties yourself, but they were so good for footage and you needed it. 

“Ugh yeah I get it, everyone at these parties are annoying. But you’ll be with our friends! It will be fine!” you reasoned, empathizing as best as you could. 

“No it’s not even that.”

“Natalie, I’m reaaaaally not a good mind reader so you’re gonna have to explain or I’m not getting off this bed.”

“David, just go and have fun! I’ll be here when you get back.”

“But I don’t want to go without you.” There. You said it.

Natalie smiled at your admission. “I just can’t go there. All those models and then all the hitting on you. It’s just a lot.”

It was your turn to smile at her admission. “It bugs you when they hit on me?” You smirked and waggled your eyebrows at her.

Natalie rolled her eyes and chuckled, just a little. “I don’t like when THOSE girls hit on you. They’re always beautiful and then you’re so polite and there’s nothing I can ever do or say about it and I just don’t like it.”

“Nat, come on.” You reached your arm to lean across her. “You know I have zero interest in any of them. We’ve had this conversation.”

“Yeah but, I don’t know. I never know if ‘the one’ is gonna walk up to you and I just really don’t want to be around to see it. It stresses me out, so my solution is to avoid.”

You heard a honk of the tesla from the garage now. Your friends were getting impatient. 

“Nat. If you come, I promise I won’t let any sketchy models hit on me. And you’re ridiculous for thinking ‘the one’ is gonna walk up to me at a party because I already have ‘the one’ right here and she’s being dramatic. I love her, but she’s being dramatic.”

Natalie narrowed her eyes at you in a fake glare before she smiled. She reached up to hold your cheek in her hand. “I’m gonna sit this one out, okay. I trust you, I do. I just have already talked myself out of this one. I’ll hang out when you guys get back! Tell me if you end up going somewhere else and maybe I’ll meet up, okay?”

You pouted, but didn’t want to push it. You grabbed her hand that was on your cheek, turned your face, and kissed her palm, then leant down to kiss her. “Okay, fine. We won’t be long. Promise.” She kissed you back.

“Don’t hurry on my account! Get good footage!” she called as you headed out the door.

You explained to your friends that Natalie wasn’t feeling well, so Zane crawled himself very unceremoniously into the front seat and tried to figure out if you were telling the truth, but you just pumped up the music and backed out of the driveway, heading towards the house party. 

You dodged many “where’s Natalie” questions, but you dodged a lot more girls who were hitting on you. Still polite, but shutting them down a lot quicker than you would have before. As promised.

You got the footage you needed, Carly drank more than she normally would and Zane was trying to take care of HER for once instead of the other way around, and you decided after about an hour that it was time to head home. You realized that it was a lot harder to have fun without Nat than you’d even though.

As usual, everyone came back to your place after, and Natalie came out to join everyone in the living room. She was in her PJs, clean faced, and glowing. She was refreshingly beautiful after all the girls who had been hitting on you at the party. She joined everyone on the couch, but quickly realized how trashed Carly was and tried to force-feed her some water. She was so good at taking care of people, it blew you away. Even when she was drunk herself, Natalie still figured out how to make sure people were taken care of. She always managed to pull it together just enough to get shit done. It was another item on the million reasons long list that you loved her. It was that trait that led you to invite her to come live out here and you loved that about her even when Liza was still in the picture. You didn’t know a lot of girls, much less people, who were like that. You admired her amidst the chaos. 

Things started to quiet down at the house. Heath and Mariah left. Jeff drove Jonah home and Zane offered to get Carly back to her place. Natalie had offered the guest room, but Carly was insistent on sleeping in her own bed. You loved having your friends in the home you shared with Natalie, but you had to admit you were happy that you’d have it to yourselves soon. 

When the door closed and the place was finally empty, you waited for the lights to back out of the drive before letting out a massive breath of air. Nat was curled into the corner of the couch across from you, cuddled with a blanket, scrolling on her phone, but she put it down at the sound of you. You crawled your way across the couch and settled next to her, trying wrap an arm around her. She smiled and hummed at your touch, turning into your body. 

“Miss me?” she asked, knowing the answer already.

“Too much.”

“How were the girls?”

“Shut them right down. Actually I kept directing them to Jonah and ducking out of the way, but it worked pretty well!” you explained and Nat laughed.

“Oh good. I’m sorry I didn’t come with. But I’m glad you seemed to have fun.”

“I always have more fun with you. I don’t get why you are worried about those girls though.” You tugged her into you closer, trying to get her weight on top of yours. “Like you know I love you.”

“I know, but those girls.. they are all so perfect. I don’t know. You talk about being in love with perfect actresses and I am so not that. I’m not a model and we both know I can be dumb sometimes.”

Nope. You were not going to listen to her shit on herself like this. You pulled her so now she was laying on your chest and wrapped your legs up in hers. 

“Stop talking like that. You are everything I have ever wanted and you’re the only thing I’ll ever want now. No one can even come close. I promise.”

You were pretty sure she didn’t believe you, but now you had the task of making sure she did.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! This is a short one!

“Stop talking like that. You are everything I have ever wanted and you’re the only thing I’ll ever want now. No one can even come close. I promise,” David whispered, nuzzling into your hair.

That feeling you get when your heart feels like it has swelled so much it could burst? That’s how his words made you feel. Of course, they were words and words may be true right now, but false later. But you loved him. You laughed lightly and let him hoist you so that you were laying mostly across his body on the couch. You didn’t love letting so much of your weight be on him– you always worried about suffocating him (he said “that’s ridiculous”)– but he loved the feeling. David was quirky like that, and he loved to feel trapped. He preferred to feel trapped by you. 

You lay on your stomach on his chest and he stroked your back gently with one hand, the other holding you close to him. You tipped your head to pepper kisses on his neck and chin, the tickling feeling causing him to humm as his eyes flickered closed. You moved to lift yourself up, swinging one leg so it was between his, and pushing up with your arms hoping to kiss him in other places, but he quickly pulled you back to him, his fingers pressed into your lower back at your waist. 

“Daaaaave” you whimpered, laughing gently.

“Hmmmmm” he hummed back, eyes still closed. He was enjoying holding you, feeling the pressure of your body on his, and it was clear he wasn’t ready to let you go. He squeezed you tightly, wrapping you up into him. The way he held you was like it would kill him to let go. It was intoxicating. You raked your fingers gently through his soft hair, one of his other favorite things.

“Hey,” you whispered. You were exhausted. “Lets go to bed.”

“Nooooo, I want to stay here forever,” he whined, tugging you impossibly tighter to him, arms wrapped all the way across your back and fingers now pressed into your hips. “Alexa, turn on to mood lighting.”

You giggled when the bright lights that always lit the space (”better for filming”) were replaced with a mix of lights switched off and some just dimmed. “Impressive,” you laughed. “You set that up yourself?”

“Joe. Taylor couldn’t figure it out” he chuckled.

You giggled. You were really getting tired now and you knew he was too, the way he clung to you, eyes closed and relaxed. “Well scoot over or I’m going to end up suffocating you.” you rolled off him now as he reluctantly scooted himself up to the backrest of the giant couch.

You sat up to adjust yourself, but David was pulling you back into him right away. “Come onnn, cuddle.” His hand snaked across your stomach now, brushing under your hoodie, and tugging you into the couch. He’d adjusted a pillow from the couch, one of the many that he was usually clutching when he napped, to support your heads as he turned on his side. You let him pull you in, loving how needy he was being without it being so sexual. He just wanted to be close to you. 

You settled in, his bottom arm under the crook of your neck so you weren’t worried about crushing it. He’d pulled a fluffy blanket to cover you both. His top arm was resting on your waist, bending at the elbow to hold close to your chest. You wrapped a hand in his to tighten his grip on you and stretched a foot back so he could tangle his legs with yours. He slotted a knee through your legs and nuzzled his face into your clean hair.

You felt more wrapped up, safe, secure, and wanted than any other time in your life. Tangled up in him on the cloud couch was like being wrapped up in heaven, and you were happy to stay there forever. 

You could tell he had drifted off to sleep, not even minutes after you’d settled on the couch. You relaxed into his body and let yourself be carried off by sleep.

“Alexa, lights off” you remembered to command just as sleep took you.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is smut, ladies and gents. Skip this if you’re not into it. You aren’t missing any story. Sorry it’s short and took a while to get out, I struggled with this one.

When you woke up, it was still dark. The sound of a helicopter whizzing past had jolted you out of your sleep. Since the living room had so many windows, it wasn’t as protected from the sounds of the city and helicopter passes weren’t out of the norm. You had fallen asleep on the couch, David tangled into you. His chest was pressed into your back, his legs intertwined with yours, his breath hot on your neck. Once your brain processed where you were and why you’d woken up, you let yourself close your eyes and relax back into him. 

Maybe it was the same helicopter sound or maybe it was your rustling awake, but you knew David had woken soon after when you heard his steady breath slow, then heard him take in a long, deep breath, his arms tightening around you. He clung to you the way he clung to the couch pillows when he napped.

You hummed into his tightening arms and again when you felt his lips press kisses into the back of your neck. 

Now you were both up. 

The tiny clock across the room displayed the time, 5:15 am. Too early to wake up. 

“Hey” you whispered, bringing the hand that was wrapped at your front to your lips for a kiss. 

“Mmmmm” he responded sleepily.

“Should we go to bed?” you asked.

“No, here.” he replied, taking his hand to your face. He gently turned your cheek, then used his other arm to lift himself forward enough to kiss you. 

Oh my god, did you ever love him like this. 

He was gentle and cuddly and not moving at 500 miles per hour. You wanted to keep him here like this for the rest of your lives if you could. 

You kissed him back, first innocently, then with more passion. David was always hard and a little horny when he woke up, but right now, he was clearly a lot horny. 

You felt him, hard against you. When he wound his bottom arm under your back, twisting your upper body so you were more accessible to him, you pressed your ass up against him and he moaned into your mouth. Now he was wound up.

He ground his length into you from behind and wrapped his arms around you, one slipping under your shirt and the other just under your waistband. You were totally wrapped up in him, both literally and figuratively. He kissed you now, long and deep, but from your angle all you could do was hold his cheek and moan into his mouth when the fingers that had dipped below your waistband made it to your core. 

When he felt how wet you were, his hips jutted forward into your clothed ass and you’d had enough of the waiting. You swivelled your hips around, sadly breaking the contact where his hand had been at your center, but it was worth it. 

Now you were facing him, both of you on your sides. You slip your arms to tug at his hips, pulling him into you. He takes your top leg and drags it to latch over his hip, giving him direct access to exactly where you want him, but the barrier of clothes keeps him from sliding right in.

“Take it off” he groans, mid-kiss, yanking at your sweatpants. You smile into his mouth, kicking your pants and panties off your legs and helping him to tug his off too. 

Before you can even slip a hand down to stroke him, he’s pushing in. You gasp at the sudden sensation. The hands that were holding his cheeks slip so one in gripping at the back of his head, playing with his tufts of hair there, and the other holds fast to his shoulder, where you try to not dig your nails. David, on the other hand, uses one hand to get leverage at your neck, the other grips your waist tightly, but sweetly. He’s pulling you into him as your heel wraps around his hip.

He takes his time with you, driving you higher and closer to the edge, breathing into your mouth, kissing you again and again, open mouthed and gasping. 

“You feel. So good.” you tell him mid-moan. You brush a strand of his hair from his eyes and you can see him looking deep into yours, eyes twinkling, almost smiling.

You decide to keep buttering him up. You know sometimes you aren’t the sweetest or the gentlest with him, so you keep going. He deserves it, you think. “Love you. So much. The most. Incredible. Person. I know.” you manage to gasp out. He pulls your mouth into his, kissing you with more passion than one should expect at 5am. You whimper as he holds you tighter, tracing the outline of your curves all the way back to your ass, gripping you and pulling you in.

“Babe,” he murmurs, groaning out to tell you he’s close. He is all worked up and the sights and sounds alone are just about enough to send you over the edge. 

“So hot, baby. So good. So hot” you urge him on. His head drops to your neck. “Come on Dave. Come on babe.” you hum into his ear. “I need you to come for me, babe. Please.” 

And that does it. His face and his sounds and his friction sends you toppling over the edge just as he does, your body gripping him hard, eliciting a groan from his throat as he juts his hips in, riding through your orgasms. He rocks into you in an almost out of control way, still gripping you hard. You’re both breathing heavy when he finally stills. He kisses from your shoulder, up your neck, to finally meet at your mouth. You caress his cheek, brushing his hair off his sticky, now sweaty forehead. You laugh lightly and he blushes, the aftershocks of his orgasm, the fact that he’s still inside of you, and the sweet words you filled his head with clearly affecting him. You lean forward to kiss him gently and pull back. 

“Babe,” he says.

“Hmmmm?”

“Thank you.” he says.

“I meant it.”

“I love you.” he says. His hand moves from your hip to cover the hand you hold on his cheek, where he grips it and brings it to his mouth to kiss. “You are so good to me, babe.”

"You deserve it.” you kiss him one more time. “Now lets get cleaned up and go back to bed. This time, in an actual bed, okay?” You pull away from him and stand, offering a hand to help him up and he follows you back to bed.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guyssssssss, I lost a chapter. My chrome restarted and all was lost. I couldn't redo it with any kind of justice so my story is shifting a bit from how I planned it, though that probably doesn't mean too much to you guys.

You fought last night. It was yet another halloween week party. You were having a blast and drank a lot more than you realized. You didn’t notice at first, but David was almost nowhere in sight for most of the night at most of the parties you hit up. You were throwing back drinks with Zane and everyone and you just didn’t notice. What you did remember was snapping at him at the last stop of the night, something about letting you dance with Zane and you just remember feeling justified about it. Like he was being ridiculous and you were the rational one. He raised his voice for just a moment, then stormed off. When he came back, he acted like he was trying to have fun, but he had a drink in his hand like he needed it. David didn’t drink often, and even this night, he didn’t drink much.

When you got home, you stumbled onto the couch and you figure David helped you change or you figured it out yourself, because when you woke up, you were in his shorts and a hoodie and curled up on the side of his bed. But David was nowhere to be found. To be fair, you didn’t wake up on this particular day until well after noon, but it was still unusual for you to be asleep so much later than even David. You had a pit in your stomach though-- the pit that you get when you're pretty sure you did or said something you should regret, but can’t pinpoint what. 

When you did get out of bed, you took the advil Dave had left on the desk for you, grabbed some orange juice, and started responding to emails. You figured he’d be home soon, but he didn’t come. Not for a while.

When he walked in the door around 9, he was with Carly and Zane and Jason. He greeted you like he would any other time his friends were around.

“Hey Nat,” he called.

“Hey. You get footage?” you asked. Act normal. 

“Yeah, should be decent. We’re going to another Halloween party tonight. You wanna come?” he asked. That was a good sign, maybe everything is fine. He’s inviting you to go.

“I would, but I have a killer headache still. I don’t know if I can even stomach being around liquor right now” you answer, regretfully flopping your head back on the couch.

“That’s cool. Well we’re getting food and then will probably go.”

“Sounds good-- I can order it if everyone tells me what they want.” you offer.

“No it’s cool, I got it. I ordered your favorite too.” he said with a small smile. Another good sign. Maybe things weren’t as bad as you remembered.

You all ate, crowded on the big couch watching a playlist of David’s videos. He’d been rewatching them to get re-inspired. It was fun for you because you never watched his old stuff.

He gripped your shoulder before they all left, a subtle goodbye, and you were on your own again.

You kept working-- catching up from your late start in the day and then getting ahead for the next. You were supposed to fly to New York for David to do a bunch of press and you didn’t want to get behind with all the travel. 

Even though you woke up so late, something about a hangover sucks the life out of you. You wanted to wait up for David to come home. You wanted to talk and have that reassurance that everything was fine between you two, but you got to the point where you couldn’t keep your eyes open. You tried and tried, but resolved to go take a nap. You didn’t want to sleep in your own room in case David just went to bed when he got home, but you didn’t want to be in his bed either in case others came in with him, so you dragged your laptop to the love sac in his bedroom. Then if you fell asleep and didn’t wake up on time, he wouldn’t be able to avoid you. You worked for a bit longer before you passed out, laptop open on your lap. 

You woke up to the group chat dinging like mad. It was muted on your phone, but not on your computer. Something about Scott and Todd’s tour--they were probably drunk. You closed your laptop and grabbed your phone to check the time, then got on instagram just to check in one what everyone was up to. David looked bored at the party and so did Carly and Zane based on their stories. You were about to go back to sleep, when you accidentally opened your explore tab and saw a wall of this dark purple-toned picture. It was hard to make out, but everyone was tagging it as David and Liza. And it was from tonight. Like, now. 

Your heart literally sank. You loved David. You trusted David. But you hated this. You waited for a text to come through from him. Like ‘Hey, bumped into Liza at this party. Just wanted to let you know’ or something, but nothing came through. It was all over your mentions now, The people who were still holding on to Diza were thrilled. The people who wanted you and David to be together were panicking, and you were just sad. You put your phone down, grabbed a pillow to cling on to, and let yourself get swallowed up by the lovesac as you drifted back to sleep under a weighted blanket. You just needed to get your mind off of everything.

You didn’t hear David come home. You also didn’t hear him check the living room for you, then your own room for you. You woke to your phone ringing in your lap and David switching on his bedroom lights, phone in hand.

“Shit. There you are!” he exclaimed, pressing a button on his phone, causing yours to stop ringing. “I didn’t know where you went!”

You pulled the blanket higher over your body and slung an arm to shade you from the bright light now filling the room. “Sorry, I must have fallen asleep... I’ll go to my room.” You moved to get up, flustered now. Frustrated about what you saw online and still stressed about what happened in the argument you barely remembered from the night before. 

“What? No. Stay here.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m just gonna go..” he blocked your path to the door.

“Nat, what is going on?” he questioned.

“What do you mean?” blocked again, heavy blanket wrapped around you.

“Why are you going to your room? Do you want me to come with? I’ve barely seen you all day.”

“No, you’re upset with me and I get it.. I’m just gonna..” you tried to walk around him, but he moved with you. 

“Natalie, stop.” he placed both hands on your shoulders. He looked you in the eyes. Whatever he saw must have made him sense your stress level, because he pulled you to his chest in a bear hug.

You let out a sigh of relief/release/something and rested your head on his chest.

“Will you tell me what’s going on at least?” He asked you, speaking into the space above your head.

You stayed silent for a moment.

“Come on, Nat.” he waited.

“It’s probably better... after last night... then Liza...”

“Wait what??” he stepped back out of your arms to look you in the face again. “Nat, we bumped into Liza at a party, we talked for a few minutes, then we filmed a quick bit when we drove past her walking to her car. It was literally a coincidence.”

“Yeah but last night, we argued.. I don’t even remember..”

“It’s fine! People argue. People who love each other argue. It was not even a big deal. I swear.”

You pondered over his words for a moment, head still hung. “You sure??” you asked.

“Yes. Babe. Come to bed. I’m tired and I didn’t get great sleep last night and honestly I just wanna cuddle. We can talk more tomorrow if you want, but please come to bed.”

You walked into his arms and his hands found yours. You held them and leaned up to kiss him. “Okay.” and then you crawled into bed and waited while he brushed his teeth, stripped down to his boxers and a t shirt, and joined you in bed.

He snuggled you into him and you peppered tiny kisses from his chest to his neck until he pulled you closer, dragging one leg across his legs and pulling you so you were laying on his chest. He kissed your hair and breathed you in while you released a contented sigh. “I do love you, Dave” you told him.

“I love you too.”


End file.
